Tencent, currently the most valuable gaming company in the world, released its Q3 financials this week. The Chinese conglomerate announced higher-than-expected revenues and profits thanks to its thriving gaming business.
Mobile games drive the success
The tech giant posted a 61 percent increase in revenue year-over-year. Company profits rose by 69 percent, reaching 18 billion yuan ($2.72 billion) this year. It seems the ever-growing global gaming business had a strong impact on Tencent’s haul. The company stated that spike was “driven primarily by smart phone games and PC games, payment related services, digital content subscriptions and sales, and online advertising.”
Revenue from smartphone games alone grew by 84 percent year-over-year, contributing massively to the overall growth. The company’s press release singled out new games like Honor of Kings. also name-checked the Chinese version of Contra Return, as well as Legacy TLBB, Legend of XuanYuan, and Journey to the Fairyland on mobile devices.
Asia’s most valuable technology company
Tencent is the holding company behind League of Legends creator Riot Games. It also owns Supercell, developer of the popular mobile strategy game Clash of Clans.
While League of Legends remains the company’s flagship product, Dungeon Fighter Online now follows closely behind. Tencent’s overall licensing revenue rose 27 percent year-over-year, generating 14.6 billion yuan ($2.2. billion) in 2017 sales.
“We focused on retaining core users and enhancing engagement through initiatives such as the LoL World Championship 2017 event held in China and a DnF-themed cartoon series,” said the company’s earning press release. “We launched anniversary and seasonal content updates, which were well-received by gamers.”
The company also created Honor of Kings, a game that’s attracted over 80 million daily active players and 200 million monthly active players. Its immense popularity also made it the most profitable mobile game on the market. In June alone, the game generated an incredible $150 million in revenue.
If the momentum sticks, Honor of Kings could soon join the ranks of esports-ready games like Vainglory.
Well-known esports teams like Echo Fox, Misfits, Cloud9, SK Gaming, Team SoloMid, NRG, and Fnatic have already jumped on board with Vainglory. The mobile gaming market is serious business in the competitive scene as well.
